Animation
The Legend of Vox Machina
When it comes to being suitable for families, Amazon Prime’s The Legend of Vox Machina failed its saving throw.
Barbie made headlines this summer when she took the box office by storm with a live-action flick. But she’s been gracing the screens of families with TV shows and direct-to-video films since 1987.
In this latest series, this one from Netflix, Barbie lives in Malibu with her mom, Margaret, her dad, George, and her three younger sisters, Skipper, Stacie and Chelsea.
Barbie is ecstatic when her best friend, Barbie “Brooklyn” Roberts, learns she’s moving in next door. But the friends soon discover Barbie Brooklyn’s sudden relocation from New York to California was the result of a magical horse called Peggy granting their wishes.
But Peggy isn’t just around to act as an equine genie. She wants to go home. The Barbies yearn to help Peggy, but they have no idea where she came from (or how to get there, for that matter). And things get even more complicated as they’re waylaid by a pesky trickster called Rocki, who followed Peggy to Malibu for mysterious reasons.
Barbie: A Touch of Magic falls in line with pretty much every other show and movie to come out of the franchise (barring 2023’s PG-13 blockbuster hit). As such, there’s no language, drugs or violence to worry about.
But, if the title wasn’t already a hint, there is magic. And plenty of it. Peggy’s wings haven’t grown in just yet, but she’s a Pegasus. She can float at low altitudes, sneezes bubbles and grant wishes (often without meaning to). Rocki has her own brand of magic, too. Just one snap of her fingers and she can make people forget things, change her appearance or make objects pop out of thin air.
There’s some LGBT content, too. In the final episode of the second season, there’s a B plot in which one woman, Daisy, seeks to ask another woman out. By the end of the episode, they’re seen holding hands at a party.
As the Barbies solve the mystery of Peggy’s sudden appearance in Malibu, they’ll likely uncover the real reason she was sent there to begin with. And there might be some magical dangers along the way.
If you’ve seen the aforementioned Barbie shows and movies (this is the third series in the storyline to drop on Netflix), then you won’t find anything new, magical or otherwise, to navigate here.
The show’s overarching theme is that the magic of friendship can solve anything. And that’s a nice little message. But if you want to avoid magical plotlines and progressive messaging, or if you’re just burnt out of pink after Barbie on the big screen, then you might want to steer clear of this kids’ series.
Peggy, a baby Pegasus whose wings haven’t grown in yet, is sent to Earth by her mother for an unknown purpose. She immediately meets the two Barbies, and the girls temporarily adopt her while trying to figure out how to send her home.
Peggy uses magic to float around. She sneezes bubbles. And whenever someone makes a wish around her, it magically comes true. Rocki, a trickster from Peggy’s homeworld, follows Peggy to Earth via some homemade mechanical wings. But it’s revealed she also has magic. She uses it to erase someone’s memory and to repair a sandcastle after she accidentally destroys it.
A tidal wave throws several surfers onto a beach, but they’re OK. Other characters take the occasional tumble but with no lasting injuries. Barbie faints after discovering Peggy can fly.
Barbie’s neighbors, who are moving into a house up the street, are incredibly rude, condescending and self-absorbed. (And the husband there acts subservient to his wife, who treats him like a servant.) Barbie and her sisters sneak behind their dad’s back to hide Peggy.
Rocki steals someone’s scooter, promising to bring it back later, which she does. While being pursued, Barbie refuses to drive faster since she wants to be a safe and legal driver.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
When it comes to being suitable for families, Amazon Prime’s The Legend of Vox Machina failed its saving throw.
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